WATCH | 'The Color Purple' trailer is out — we spoke to producer Oprah Winfrey

Almost 30 years after Steven Spielberg’s 1985 adaptation of the book by Alice Walker earned it 11 Oscar nominations and set Oprah Winfrey on the road to becoming a household name internationally, Winfrey returns as the producer of the latest iteration of The Color Purple — a film adaptation of the Broadway musical version starring Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Halle Bailey, Taraji P Henson and Colman Domingo and directed by Blitz Bazawule. The film is set for release in the US on December 25.

At the launch for the trailer this week, Winfrey and Bazawule spoke about what's made Walker’s story a classic for generations of African Americans and people all over the world and what a new generation of viewers can expect from this new version.

What is it about this story that’s made it relevant to so many audiences across a generation?

Oprah Winfrey: As long as there's a need for self-discovery, self-empowerment; as long as there’s a need for victory in someone’s life; as long as there's a need for people to know what it feels like to be loved up and to be made full and whole through somebody else’s love — there will be a need for The Color Purple. We have our iteration now coming out on December 25 and I believe that in the future, this story just grows and it never grows old.

I was making a behind the scenes documentary for HBO and interviewing some of the cast members. Fantasia Barrino so deeply moved me — she said this movie changed her because it allowed her to forgive. She said to me, “People coming to this movie will be healed”. I asked her, “Why do you say that, Fantasia?” She replied, “Because I was healed”. And I said, “Do you mind sharing with us why you felt you were Celie?” and she said, “I came from no education, I came from sexual assault as a young girl, I came from domestic abuse and I learnt through this movie that not only could I heal but I could forgive”. So I think the power that comes through Fantasia, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Taraji P Henson — is the energy and force of knowing you’re representing a story that's at the heart of the need for victory in someone’s life. It’s at the heart of the need of discovering who you are and recognising no matter what you’ve been through, you are still here.

How did you approach the task of bringing the musical to screen?

Blitz Bazawule: I wanted to create epic and bold visual motifs. You can’t do that if you’re shooting realism and so we had to expand the story, giving Celie an internal headspace that would allow us to create that. It was also an opportunity for the expression of joy because often when we think about African American life there’s a tendency to narrow it down to the struggles, but nobody gets here without the duality of joy and pain. I knew the film was going to be a triumphant journey through struggle. Once we arrived at that point it became about how you make the film a musical. I’ve been a musician for more than 10 years; I’ve taught globally and I knew quickly music creates a level of empathy and a directness we could lock into. Beyond that, African American music has always set the pace for music globally, so I knew all I had to do was lean on that and create some sort of parallel between the music and the character. So we went back and looked at gospel music as our genesis; that evolved into blues and jazz — and we knew that as Celie continued to evolve, the music would continue to evolve. When you put it all together you have a tapestry that’s beautiful, joyous and healing.

How do you create something that's new but still honours the source? That was the job. We knew that this The Color Purple was for a new generation. As Oprah said, the context of The Color Purple is evergreen; as long as there continues to be issues of gender bias, domestic abuse, racial inequality — these things are central to what The Color Purple is. If you look out your window, it’s happening today — that’s how I knew for sure I’d be able to lean into what was new about it, but also know it already comes with an inbuilt history that Alice Walker bequeathed us.

What were the challenges of adapting a musical to film?

Bazawule: We were fortunate to inherit brilliant music from the Broadway show. When you get that music you go, “How do I turn this music into something cinematic?” That’s the difference. Overall it was about making it real and tracking the overall arc of African American music and going, “If this is gospel and this is blues and this is jazz, then my job is synthesise each song through the acts of our movie.”

Winfrey: The music is necessary — it’s not just singing — this music comes up out of the soul of the narrative. When people sing, they’re singing because there ain’t nothing else to do to express the moment but sing. Dancing comes out of the same element. I think people will appreciate it, even people who think to themselves, “I don’t know, I don’t like musicals”, because the music is relevant to the moment in the story; it’s not just there to be music.

What do you hope audiences take away from the film?

Winfrey: They’re going sit in their seats and cry at the end. They’re going to be emotional because they already know what the ending is. We didn’t change the ending, it's emotional but they’re going to be filled with so much love. I think this is a family film; a sisterhood film; an individual film for anybody who wants to feel a sense of hopefulness in these times — a sense of triumph for themselves and joy!

Bazawule: The communal feeling — watching this movie in a group — those collective gasps, laughs, tears — is something I’ve come to appreciate and I think that’s what’s going to make it special to see in cinemas on Christmas Day, because it’s going to resonate with families. 

• The Color Purple releases in South Africa on January 26 2024.